Zombies Don't Get Sick
by bowties-scarves-and-plaid
Summary: Addison suspects that Zed is sick, but he is very insistent that Zombies don't get sick. Addy wants to believe him, but when his symptoms persist, she is forced to take action.
1. Chapter 1

Addison was startled awake by the sound of her phone ringing. She was reaching to ignore the call when the melody of it finally entered her sleepy brain. It was the ringtone she had set for Zed.

Suddenly more alert, Addy sat upright and grabbed her phone, quickly accepting the call. "Zed? What's wrong?" She looked at the clock and internally groaned when she saw it was 1 am. She had to be up for school in five hours.

"Addison..." The small, timid voice on the other end of the phone was most definitely not Zed's.

"Zoey? What's going on? Where's Zed?" Addison felt a wave of panic hit her and it was all she could do to stop the stream of questions she had.

"He's in his room...I stole his phone 'cause he didn't want me to call you, but something's wrong with him and I think he needs help," Zoey said shakily. Zoey was one of the bravest people that Addison had ever met. She had seen that little girl stand in front of a crowd of hundreds that were all booing her without blinking an eye. Yet right now, Zoey sounded truly scared and that freaked Addison out even more.

"Alright, I'm coming," Addison responded. She cradled the phone as she started to pull on her clothes. "But Zoey, where is your father?"

"He's working the overnight shift, it was the only one he could get. Zed got really angry when I said we should call dad's work. He said that dad really needs this job and can't afford to leave for something so silly," Zoey's voice now took on a bit of a whine. She sounded a bit more like a normal kid who hadn't gotten her way.

"But you don't think it's silly," Addy commented as she pulled on her sneakers.

"No, Zed's not acting normal," Zoey said.

"Zoey, what exactly is wrong with Zed?" Addison asked. She was all ready but she wanted to hear the answer to this question before she ended the call.

"He's-" Zoey started to answer but then cut off. "Hey!" She shouted, but her voice was far away.

"Zoey? Zoey, what's going on?" Addison whispered as loud as she dared.

"Addy, everything's fine," Zed's voice now came through her phone. Addison sat down on her bed in relief.

"Zed, what the heck is going on?" She asked.

"Nothing, Zoey's just been on edge since the whole football fiasco. Everything is good over here," Zed responded. He voice sounded strained and tired, but other than that he sounded like himself.

"Clearly everything is not good if Zoey was scared enough to call me. What does she think is wrong with you? She said you were acting not like yourself," Addison argued, sensing that Zed wasn't giving her the full story.

"It's not a zombie thing, don't worry," Zed rushed to reassure her. "Everything is just catching up with me and I'm just exhausted, that's all."

"You're just tired…" Addison said in a way that let him know she didn't believe him.

"Yes, and you absolutely do not need to come here. I don't want you to get into any more trouble than you already are," Zed said firmly.

It had been a week since cheerleaders and zombies had joined together to cheer. Even though her parents were slowly warming up to the idea of Zed, they had still grounded her for lying to them and breaking the rules. Addy was only allowed to go to school and cheer practice for the foreseeable future.

"You sure you are okay?" She asked. She knew that sneaking into Zombietown at this hour could get her in trouble with not only her parents but also the police, but Zed always came first and she had a bad feeling in her gut that he wasn't okay.

"Yes. I'm fine and you can see that for yourself tomorrow at school," Zed answered in a tone that told her there was no arguing with him.

"Okay, but call me if you need anything," She said, giving in.

"Will do."

"Oh and Zed? Tell Zoey that she is free to call me anytime she needs me."

"That's dangerous, Addy," Zed said with a soft laugh. "She'll call you for every little thing."

"I'm okay with that," Addison said seriously. There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone before Zed responded,

"You are really sweet. I will tell her. Goodnight Addison."

"Goodnight Zed," She responded and then hung up the phone.

The first thing that she did after was to go to her bedroom door and put her ear against it. She strained to hear if any of the sounds of her whispered phone conversation had reached her parents. To her relief, the house was silent.

The next thing she did was have a mental argument with herself. Her instincts and her heart were telling her to sneak out anyway and go check on Zed herself, but her mind was telling her that it was risky and that Zed had told her he was fine.

But on the other hand, there had to have been a reason Zoey had called her. It was possible the young girl was overreacting, but she was still reacting to something. Addison had a suspicion that something was more than simple exhaustion.

In the end, she made the decision that she was always going to make and climbed out of her window.


	2. Chapter 2

Addison made it to the Necrodopolous' house without incident. Tensions surrounding zombies had lessened therefore so had the police presence. Besides, anyone there was watching for a zombie leaving Zombietown, not a human girl sneaking in.

Zed answered her knock almost immediately. He looked at her with an exasperated expression that held no surprise.

"I figured you'd come anyways, hurry up and get inside before someone sees you," He said, opening the door wide and looking anxiously around the deserted street. Addy went inside and watched as he gave the street one more look over before shutting the door and locking it.

He stood with his back to her for a few seconds and then he turned around to face her. Addison could tell immediately what had made Zoey so nervous. Zed looked like crap. His normally pale skin was practically translucent and the red that normally ringed his eyes was replaced by a much darker color. If he had been human, Addison would've said he was sick, but she'd always been told that Zombies didn't get sick. Then again, most of what she knew about zombies was wrong.

"Can zombies get sick?" She couldn't help but blurt out. Zed quirked an eyebrow at her and almost managed to look fully like himself.

"Our physiologies are different enough that zombies can't catch human illnesses, and we don't have any that affect just zombies. So no, zombies can't get sick," Zed said with a small smile. Addison wanted to believe him, she really did, but that was hard to do when he was pale and sweaty and looked like he was about to keel over at any second.

"You look sick," Addison pointed out.

"I just need sleep, and to do that, I need people to not come knocking at 1:30 in the morning," Zed said with a sigh, sitting on the arm of the couch. He definitely didn't look like he was lying about being tired.

"Where's Zoey?" Addison asked, deciding to drop the subject for the moment.

"I finally got her to sleep. I told her that you would probably not listen and come over anyway. That seemed to calm her down enough so she could fall asleep," Zed said with a sweet, small smile on his lips as he talked about his little sister.

"She looks up to you Zed, she doesn't want to see you hurt."

"I know, I can't blame her for being worried. But zombies can't get sick, so there is nothing to worry about," Zed said firmly.

"If you say so," Addison said, not wanting to argue. Zed knew best when it came to zombies. "Come on, I'll tuck you in and then I'll head home before my parents notice I'm gone." She held out her hand and Zed hesitated for a second before taking it with a smile.

Addison had been prepared to drop the idea that Zed could get sick, but as soon as he took her hand she knew something was wrong. Zombies always ran cold, she wasn't sure if it was from a slow heartbeat or what, but whatever the reason, every time Zed took her hand, his was cool to the touch. This time, however, his hand was unnaturally warm when she held it.

Before he could object or make a move to stop her, Addison put the back of her hand against Zed's forehead. It was definitely warm, it wasn't human fever warm, but it was definitely warmer than the zombie usually was.

"What are you doing, weirdo?" Zed asked, swatting her hand away with a smile. His grin faded when he caught sight of her serious expression. "Addy? What's wrong?"

"You have a fever," She said, crossing her arms and continuing to look had him in a serious manner.

"And you can tell that by touching my forehead?" Zed said, still trying to play it off.

"That's how my mom always could tell if I had one," Addison said with a shrug.

Zed's expression darkened slightly and Addy realized two things at the same time. The first one was that Zed had said that zombies didn't get sick, so he'd probably never experienced anyone taking his temperature in any form. The second was that Zed's mom had died when he was little, so even if Zed was a normal human boy, he still may have never experienced his mother taking his temperature.

"The point is, I can feel that you have a temperature, Zed," Addison said, plowing ahead despite the sudden awkwardness. "Your skin feels as warm as a human, which for a zombie means you are running hot. Have you been experiencing chills or hot flashes?"

"Umm, a bit," Zed admitted. "But I think it is just my body still adjusting after I messed with my Z Band so much."

"It's been happening since then?" Addison asked. It had been just over a week since that fateful homecoming game. The longest week and a half of Addy's life, in fact. She didn't like to hear that on top of everything else, Zed had been keeping more secrets about his health. She had been upset enough when he had told her that he had been hiding the full pain of the Z Band hack from her.

"Only a little. Look, Addy, they told me in Zombie containment that I might experience some ill effects of messing with my Z Band, although they weren't exactly sure what they might be. I'm sure that this is all that is," Zed explained hurriedly. "I should have told you, but with everything that had happened, I didn't want to stress you out over nothing."

"This isn't nothing, Zed," Addy said with a sigh, unable to stay upset at him when he looked so miserable.

"Admittedly this is a bit worse than it has been," Zed responded.

"Have you gone to your doctor about it?"

"Zombies don't have doctors," Zed stated as he sat back down on the arm of the couch.

"What?"

"We don't get sick, remember?" He reminded her in a patient tone that she was sure he used on his sister a lot. "So we don't need doctors. We check in with someone at zombie containment once a year, but that is just to make sure our Z Band is working and that we haven't gone rogue."

"But...what if you injure yourself?" Addison asked in surprise, unable to believe the fact that they didn't have doctors.

"We do have someone who was a nurse before she became a zombie, so if anyone hurts themselves, they can go see her."

"That's it?" Addison asked, taken aback by the information. All of her life she had been taken to doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist for her hair. Not to mention every time she was sick or hurt herself she was taken to a doctor just to be safe. She couldn't imagine a world where that wasn't the reality.

"Yeah, well, she's a really good nurse. She worked at the trauma ward in the hospital before the accident. This was considered the wrong side of the tracks even before the explosion. Most of the people here worked in the power plant," Zed said, his voice taking on a defensive tone.

"Oh no, Zed, I didn't mean anything against zombies with that comment. It's just that my life has been surrounded by doctors from the very start," Addy said, tugging on a piece of her white hair. Zed's expression softened and he reached out to take her hand. He pulled her so that she was standing in between his legs and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sometimes it's so easy to forget how different of lives we led growing up," Zed said with a sigh.

"It's because we both are so well adjusted," Addy teased. Zed laughed and brought her closer so he could lay his chin on the top of her head. Addison snuggled against him and tried to enjoy the moment, but it was hard when she could feel the heat radiating from him.

Addy indulged herself for a few seconds before pulling back, not out of his arms, but far enough away so she could look up into his face and fix him with a serious look. Zed raised his eyebrow in an unspoken question.

"I need you to promise me that you will take tomorrow off of school," She said in her most no-nonsense tone. She sounded a bit like her mother and shivered inwardly at the thought.

"Addy, you know I can't do that. I will miss too much school work, not to mention baseball practice," Zed started immediately objecting.

"You can afford a day off, and you need a day off. Just give yourself a day to catch up on sleep and relax. When I am sick, my body always needs a lot of sleep."

"I'm not sick," He said stubbornly. At this, Addy pulled out of his arms so she could pace.

"Okay, even if you are not sick, per se, I still think your body needs time to recover from what it's been through. With everything with the Z Band hack and-" Addy cut herself off, but Zed finished her thought.

"And going rogue," He said grimly.

"Yes," Addy continued on, determined to make her point. "You've been going nonstop. You even went and joined a new team now that football has finished up. All I'm saying is that you should take a day to rest and recuperate a bit."

"It's not like I can exactly call in sick, no one is gonna believe that," Zed was still arguing, but Addison could tell that she was starting to win him over.

"Just tell the school you have an appointment to get your new Z Band checked over," Addy said quickly, already prepared for that line of argument.

"Wow, Addison, you surprise me," Zed said, looking both startled and impressed.

"Does that mean you'll do it?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, it obviously means a lot to you if you are willing to condone lying to a school official...so yes, I'll take tomorrow off," Zed said with a smile. Addison ignored his teasing because she had just won the argument. She threw her arms around Zed's neck and his arms wrapped around her waist in response.

"Good," Addy withdrew and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. "Now come on, I'll tuck you in and sneak back into my house before my parents notice my absence."


	3. Chapter 3

Zed was asleep before his head hit the pillow. This only confirmed Addison's belief that he needed sleep and lots of it. She kissed her adorable boyfriend's forehead and made sure that he had enough blankets to keep him warm.

Addison was quietly making her way down the hall when she heard a small voice call her name. She pushed open the door to Zoey's bedroom and smiled at the young girl cuddled up in bed with Puppy beside her.

"I knew you'd come," Zoey said sleepily.

"Of course, I'll always be here when you or Zed need me," Addison said as she sat on the edge of the little zombie's bed.

"Is Zed going to be okay?"

"Yes, Zed is going to be just fine. His body just needs some time to rest and get back to normal," Addy responded, running her fingers through Zoey's hair. Addison still wasn't 100% convinced that Zed was only tired, but that was the best explanation she could give Zoey at the moment.

"Because he messed with his Z Band?" Zoey asked.

"You know about that?" Addison said in surprise. Zoey nodded and gave Addison a serious look that made her look older than she was.

"Everyone's talking about it. People have lots of different things to say. Some people think it was a good thing because Zed being good at football meant that humans weren't as afraid of zombies. But some people are mad because it could've hurt Zed or Zed could've hurt a human. Zed's not hurt is he?"

"No, nothing like that. He's just a bit worn out and needs his sleep. What time does your dad get home from work?"

"I'm not sure, I think after I leave for school."

"Okay, so Zed is the one who will get you up and cook you breakfast?"

"Yes…"

"Does he take you to school?"

"No, I walk to school with my friend from next door," Zoey said in a tone that told Addison she was waiting for her point.

"Look, Zed is going to stay home from school tomorrow so he can rest. Can you do me a favor and tuck him back into bed before you leave for school?"

"Yes!" Zoey said loudly and Addison shushed her quickly. Zoey gave her an apologetic smile and continued talking in a softer voice, "Zed and dad have tucked me in lots of times, I know how to do it."

Addison smiled at the girl's proud tone and cupped her cheek lightly. "I'm sure you will do a fantastic job."

"Will you come over after school to make sure he's better?"

"I have cheer practice after school, but I can come over after that," Addison said, suddenly wishing that Bucky didn't consider cheer to be a year-round sport. "You and I can cook dinner for Zed and your father. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good," Zoey said with a bright smile. Addy returned the smile and then leaned down to give Zoey a kiss on the forehead like she had done with Zed a few minutes earlier. She then gave Puppy a few scratches when he protested her movement.

"Then. I will see you tomorrow," Addison said as she stood up.

"You could stay here you know. I'd let you have my bed and I could sleep on the floor, I wouldn't mind," Zoey said suddenly. Addison's heart melted at the sweetness of the offer.

"I would love to stay sweetie, but I have to get home. I need to be in my bed in the morning because my parents don't know I'm here because I snuck out," Addison said the last part in an over-exaggerated whisper that caused Zoey to giggle softly.

"Okay, I don't want you getting into more trouble because of Zed," Zoey said.

"Wow, he told you I was grounded?"

"Zed tells me stories about all of his friends at school," The young zombie responded. Addison couldn't find it in herself to even pretend to be annoyed at the thought of Zed telling his little sister bedtime stories.

"Well maybe someday I'll tell you a story about Zed," Addy said. The least she could do was get a little payback. She was sure that Zed hadn't shared all of the toe stubbing details about how the two of them had first met.

"Tomorrow after dinner?" Zoey asked eagerly.

"Sure," Addison laughed at her impatience.

"I can't wait," Zoey said with a big yawn.

"Get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow," Addy said and quietly backed out of the room. She looked down the hall at Zed's dark room. Addison wanted to go check on him one last time but didn't want to risk waking him up. The house was quiet, so she just hoped he was resting peacefully.

Addison made her way out of the house as quietly as possible. It was now reaching 3 am so everyone sane was asleep in their beds. Addison only had to dodge one measly zombie patrolman on her way home.

It was only after she was safely inside her bedroom did she pull out her phone and notice that she had a text from Zed.

 _Heard you with my sister. You are the greatest and I love you.  
_ _See you tomorrow,  
_ _xoxo Z_

Addison had a huge smile on her face as she read the text. She wasn't happy that he had woken up again, but his compliment and the 'I love you' made up for that.

She didn't respond because she didn't want to wake him up if his phone wasn't on silent, but she would make sure to respond first thing in the morning.

Addison climbed into bed and just like Zed (before he'd woken up), she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

"Addy? Addison?" Bree had to call her name several times before she heard. Addison shook her head slightly and tried to focus on what her friend was saying.

"Sorry," She apologized and looked up from her untouched lunch.

"You're really worried about Zed, aren't you?" Bree said sympathetically.

"Zed will be okay, Addison, he was right when he said that zombies don't get sick. He'll be rested up in no time," Eliza said, but her voice didn't hold as much confidence as it usually did.

"What's wrong, Eliza?" Addison asked.

Bonzo said something in zombie tongue and nudged Eliza with his shoulder. Addison made a mental note that she had to make more of an effort to learn the zombie language.

"Okay...we went over to see Zed this morning when he said he was skipping school. I was shocked that he was choosing to miss class and practice, but when I got there I could tell he really wasn't feeling 100%. He looked exhausted and didn't have any of the typical Zed energy," Eliza confessed.

"I know previously zombies haven't been able to catch human diseases, but you also haven't mingled so closely with humans in a really long time. Do you think it's possible that Zed could be sick?" Addison said, voicing the fear that had been in her head since she first felt Zed's burning forehead.

Bonzo shrugged and said a few words in zombie.

"Right, anything's possible," Eliza translated.

The group fell into a slightly depressed silence. They were all thinking about the implications of Zed being sick. With no zombie doctors, it could be disastrous if an illness started spreading.

Addison was jolted out of her thoughts when someone dropped into the seat next to her. She looked over in shock to see that it was Zed. He looked even worse than he had the night before. She could immediately feel his body heat and he looked like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

"Zed!" She said loudly and he winced at her volume. She apologized and continued in a softer voice, "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story."


	4. Chapter 4

***5 hours earlier***

The shrill beep of Zed's alarm clock let him know that his headache from the night before was still kicking. He shut off the alarm and groaned as he tried to work up the energy to get out of bed.

The only thing that got him out of the warmth of his covers was the sounds coming from Zoey's bedroom down the hall as she got ready for school. He could hear her singing softly and knew that meant that she was brushing her hair.

Zed fought off shivers as he got out of bed and made his way downstairs. He decided to make scrambled eggs and cauliflower because it was easy and not very labor intensive. He had just finished when Zoey came hopping down the stairs, Puppy right on her heels. She stopped in the doorway and gave him a serious look.

"I'm okay, Zoey," Zed assured her before she got a chance to ask.

"You don't look any better," She commented as she sat down. Zed put some eggs on her plate and sat down next to her. "Addison said you are taking the day off of school."

"Yeah, she's pretty convincing," Zed said with a smile. "Plus I could use the sleep."

"Yes, you could," Zoey said in her endearingly honest way. "Addison told me to make sure to tuck you back into bed before I leave."

"Oh, she did, did she?" Zed asked, even though he had heard the conversation between his girlfriend and his sister the night before. Zombie houses were not built very well and sound carried easily through the thin walls. "Think you're up to the task?"

"Of course, I bet I can be better than dad, maybe even you," She responded.

"You think I'm better than dad?" Zed asked, incredibly touched.

"Yep, you tell better stories," Zoey said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Okay, well eat up and then you can tuck me in with a story of your own," Zed said with a laugh. He smiled even wider when Zoey immediately began shoving food into her mouth. Zed might feel lousy, but his little sister always managed to make him feel a bit better.

They finished up the breakfast and true to her word, Zoey tucked Zed into bed with a story. She made sure his bed was piled high with practically every blanket in the house and then she hopped up to sit next to him. Zed tried to listen as Zoey told him a story about some drama between her classmates, but there was a lot of different characters involved and his head was hurting too much to follow along. Luckily, Zoey didn't notice his lack of comprehension.

"Um, Zoe?" Zed finally cut in, sorry to interrupt her animated talking. "I am absolutely loving this story, but you have to head to school now. How about we finish this story later tonight?"

"Okay!" Zoey said enthusiastically. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and then jumped off of his bed. "See you later Zed, have a good sleep."

Zoey ran out of the door and Zed smiled as he listened to her run down the stairs and out the door. He really did love his enthusiastic little sister.

Once Zoey was gone, Zed took out his phone and pulled up the number for the school secretary that Addison had sent to him that morning. Taking a deep breath, he dialed the number.

 _"Hello, you've reached Seabrook High, how can I help you?"_

"Yes, hello," Zed said, making his voice deep so it sounded like his father's. "This is Zevon Necrodopolous, I'm calling to let you know that my son, Zed, won't be in school because he has an appointment to get his new Z-Band tested and checked over." Zed tried to make his voice as no-nonsense as possible.

 _"That's quite alright Mr. Necrodopolous, will Zed be joining us later in the day?"_

"Umm," Zed hesitated, unprepared for this question.

 _"What time's his appointment,"_ The secretary prompted.

"9 am," Zed said the first time that popped into his head. He immediately wished that he'd said it was later in the day.

 _"And how long does this appointment usually last? One hour? two hours?"_ The woman's high-pitched, cheery voice was hurting his head and making it hard to think.

"It's actually more like three hours," Zed said, trying to buy some more time for himself. It hadn't occurred to me that the appointment excuse wasn't an all-day excuse.

 _"Okay, we look forward to seeing Zed around lunchtime,"_ the secretary said in the same annoyingly chipper voice.

"Sounds good," Zed responded, even though it sounded anything but. He hung up the phone and sighed loudly. That could've gone better, but at least this way he could still get a few extra hours of sleep, plus he could still go to baseball practice.

Zed set the alarm on his phone and then pulled the blankets tight around him, shivering despite the number of them.

It didn't take him long to fall back asleep.

* * *

If Zed had been hoping to feel better the second time he woke up, he was sadly disappointed. In fact, he felt even worse than he had a few hours ago. He sat up and was assaulted with a wave of dizziness. He held onto his aching head and waited for it to pass.

"Ugh," Zed groaned as he stood up slowly. He seriously considered just skipping school and going back to bed, but he was already on thin ice for hacking his Z Band and endangering the students at the school. He didn't want to get into any more trouble. Zed thought about texting Addy about his predicament but decided that she would probably just insist that he stay home despite the consequences.

Resigned to the fact that the day would most likely be miserable, Zed went through the motions of getting himself ready for school.

The process took him longer than it normally did, so by the time he stumbled into school, the lunch period had already started.

He went to the office to sign in and was greeted by the same loud and cheery secretary he'd spoken to on the phone.

"Oh Zed, so glad you made it!" She said with a smile. Zed attempted to return her smile and walked over to the desk. "Honey, you aren't looking so good," She said, her smile turning into a concerned frown.

"Yeah, they just put me through some tests that really take it out of me," Zed responded, realizing that he should've tried to use that excuse earlier to stay home.

"Sorry to hear that sweetie, but at least you only have a few hours of school left and then you can go home and rest," She said, her bright smile once again on her face.

"Right," Zed said in a monotone. The woman didn't seem to notice his unenthusiasm as she handed him a clipboard.

"Just write your name, student number, and the reason for tardiness here and you will be good to go."

Zed did as he was asked and then walked out of the office, giving a wave when the woman bade him a happy goodbye.

Zed made his way through the halls without his usual energy. He normally loved coming to school and walking through the halls and greeting the now familiar and friendly faces. Today, however, he felt so miserable that the smiles and waves did little to improve his mood.

The only thing that lifted his spirits slightly was when he walked into the cafeteria and caught sight of Addison's white hair. He took a few deep breaths at the entrance of the cafeteria and attempted to fix a smile on his face. Addison's back was to him, so he was able to sneak up next to her and sit down.

"Zed!" She yelled, eyes wide. He tried to hold back the wince at her loud voice, but he could tell he hadn't succeeded when her eyes widen further and she continued in a softer voice. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," He said with a sigh.

* * *

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _Thank you so much to everyone who has read this and for those of you who have commented! That really makes my day._**

 ** _Fun fact: I currently have the flu, so I am getting a lot of inspiration for this fic :-D_**

 ** _There is some excitement coming up in the next chapter, so get pumped for that!_**


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